D.C.’s Warm Start to January

 

NOAA's 6-10 Day Temperature Outlook

January 2023 has gotten off to an unusually warm start in the Nation’s Capital.  None of the first 12 days of the month were colder than average.  That’s very unusual for what is traditionally the coldest month of the year.  Two of the last three January’s have been warmer than average in Washington, D.C., so local residents have become used to milder than average weather in recent winters.

This month began with five consecutive days of high temperatures in the 60s.  The Nation’s Capital has averaged only between two and three January days in the 60s over the last 30 years.  According to the National Weather Service, the total of five days in the 60s so far this month has given Washingtonians their highest such total since 2018, which featured eight such days.

Record warmth occurred on January 3 with a high of 69° at National and Dulles Airports.  Temperatures like that are more characteristic of mid-April than early January.  Not only has D.C.’s average monthly temperature (combining daily high/low temperatures) been 10.6° above average through January 12, but it has also been a drier than average month with only 0.18” of rain so far (0.94” below average).  It’s hard to see any snowfall when it’s both warmer and drier than average.

Consequently, signs of spring have already begun to emerge in parts of the D.C. Metro Region such as daffodils poking above ground in parts of Bethesda, Maryland.  Weather can change quickly, so it’s much too early to write off winter altogether.

The coldest time of the year based on average temperature in the Nation’s Capital starts tomorrow.  The daily average high/low temperatures are 44°/30° for a six-day stretch from January 14 – January 19.  While temperatures will be near average tomorrow, with breezy conditions making it feel colder, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects warmer than average weather to continue for the next 1-2 weeks.  That would put the Nation’s Capital on track to possibly finish with one of the warmest January’s on record.

Winter weather enthusiasts shouldn’t fret, however, as appreciable snowfall can occur well into March in the D.C. Metro Area.  In fact, March has been D.C.’s snowiest month of the year four times over the last decade (the same number of times as January).  March 2014 saw an eye-popping 12.7” of snow that made for D.C.’s snowiest March since 1960.  More recently, 4.1” of snow fell at National Airport on March 21, 2018, with a daily record of 4.8” at Dulles Airport.